The present invention relates to facia borders for use around the periphery of a building roof, and, in particular, to a two-piece facia system for easy and accurate installation between the roof and soffits.
Facia borders are commonly used at the transition of outer walls and roof periphery to provide a structural and architectural transition therebetween. Where a transition is to be effected between a soffit and the roof, for instance, an elongate strip or board is attached to the nailing plate on the outer wall and overlies the upper end thereof. A molding strip is oftentimes used to provide the final transition with the roof.
The installation using lumber is well established. The material is relatively rigid and presents few problems in alignment or fastening. The advent of light weight pre-finished materials, such as aluminum trim strips, however, present installation, quality control, and decorative problems. The trim strips are commonly roll-formed on site from coiled stock and severed to convenient extended lengths and nailed at the upper ends to the underlying nailing plate. Because of the thin wall material commonly used, 20 gauge or less in thickness, the formed strips are prone to deflection and sagging during installation, presenting an undesirable waviness at the bottom detracting from appearance. Unless carefully handled, the strips may also kink or buckle, further complicating installation and detracting from appearance. Thus, unless painstakingly matched to reference markings requiring advance carpentry skills, the finished border is irregular and decoratively compromised.
Further, the fastener installation tends to impart localized surface blemishes, in the form of dimples and waves, which are likewise detracting. Moreover, the rigid attachment of the trim strip presents thermal expansion problems that can produce bowings and other thermally related distortions of the trip strip. Not entirely satisfactory attempts have been made to overcome the attachment difficulties using adhesives, however, durability and long term adherence problems persist.
Facia systems have been proposed using custom components, in both aluminum ad vinyl stock. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 6,227,797 to Finger discloses a rake board installation wherein upper and lower J-channels capture inwardly projecting hooks at the top and bottom of a trim piece. A similar custom retention system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,129 to Knoebl wherein upper and lower mounting channels capture the facia panel. Another mounting system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,332,180 to Price wherein spaced mounting clips engage the lower flange of a trim member, with the upper end of the trim member nailed to the roof sheeting. While each of the foregoing eliminates some of the drawbacks of current facia installation, custom and according expensive components are required.
The present invention provides a snap-in facia border utilizing conventional roll formed coil trim. The trim is attached to mounting clips periodically spaced about the roof periphery. The mounting clip includes horizontal barbs that are tacked on the nail backing plate along a chalk line that insures uniform positioning of the trim relative to the roof line, soffit and wall facing. After alignment the clip is attached to the nailing plate with conventional fasteners. The clip includes an upper pocket that receives the top of the trim to vertically locate and retain the trim, and a lower leg that is slidably received in the lower trim flange to retain the bottom of the trim. The front face is provided with rearward swaged indentations that engage a stop plate to limit downward movement of the trim. The trim may be conveniently slid into a locked condition whereat the indentations detent with the stop plates of the mounting clips, easily and with minimal dexterity. Resultantly, an accurately aligned trim member using desirable standard trip components is provided.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a facia system for roof borders that is easy to install using conventional trim facing.
Another object of the invention is to provide a simplified method for accurately installing coil trim.
A further object of the invention is to provide a two-piece facia border for a roof periphery that is easily, accurately and securely assembled without visible fasteners.